Mythological
by Kaikie
Summary: POSTPONED INDEFINATELY. A woman appears, and has a power only ever heard of in myth. Those few who know of her presence, unfortunately also have the power to pursue her, and they follow her to those that may not have the power to protect. OC
1. Chapter 1

**I was not planning on posting this for a few more months.** But I'll start anyway. I have a direction that I know I want to go, and enough material to help me post. This is the 'starter' chapter. The subsequent chapters will be shorter than you're probably used to (By a lot). Just wanted to let you know _now._

I don't own _'Inuyasha'_ or any of its containing characters. This will be the only time I say that for the duration of this fanfiction.

**(((((O)))))**

The forest was still. There were no birds singing in the emerald treetops. No animals, large or small, were scuffling in the underbrush and fallen leaves. Even the wind seemed to be holding back its breath, causing the air to feel oppressive and weigh down everything it touched. The only thing that appeared normal was the sun. It shone brightly down upon everything in its path, illuminating the world joyfully for all to see.

The silence of the forest was broken only by the slightest of noises, an almost inaudible panting reached the ears of the still animals. A rustling joined it as the one panting suddenly shifted jerkily. This was followed by a gasp of pain before the panting started again. The one making the quiet noise lay off to the side of the natural arena where they had just fought for their life and lost, blood seeping from their side through clutching fingers. The attacker was gone, never again to return. The victim, however, had no choice but to stay.

Long black hair sprawled everywhere, in a tangled, sweat-filled mass. Where it was next to skin, it clung, wet. Clothing scraps sprinkled the forest floor, bright splashes of red and gold against the natural hues of the forest floor. Bare feet, covered in lacerations from moving too fast on ground and vegetation were sandal-less, having lost the protection somewhere in the struggle. Dirt covered every limb that wasn't protected by cloth, though most of the outfit was coated as well.

There, dying in the middle of the forest floor, all alone, was a girl.

She cringed again, as another wave of pain coursed through her. After it subsided, her panting began again.

'_At least I'm still decent…'_ she mockingly thought to herself, knowing that nobody would see her alive anyway. Internally, she wished for nothing more than someone _anyone_ would find her and either save her, or put her out of her misery. Yes, she would rather live, but at this rate, she was going to die, so it seemed to be an acceptable alternative as well.

She writhed in pain again, and it took all her strength not to let more than a soft cry past her lips. The last thing she wanted was to attract something vicious and meat-eating to chomp on her while she was still able to feel it. As it was, she struggled to continue concealing as much of her aura as possible, as that was what the attacker had been originally attracted to. You see, the feeling of her particular aura was a curiosity to almost any semi-intelligent being with the ability to sense such things, so she normally kept it under wraps. And letting her guard down for just one measly little second had led her into this mess.

Yeah. Better not to attract more trouble. The scent of blood, even without anything special laced through it was probably attracting things already. Her eyesight had started to blur, as the pool of blood beneath where her hand clutched her side had run all the way to her knees.

'_Oh please, let this be over soon…'_ Almost as if by her silent command, a rustling began in the nearby brush.

'_No. Nonono…not until I'm dead. Don't eat me yet. Go away…'_ She cringed with pain.

And cringed yet again when a high-pitched shriek shattered the silence. The animals that had frozen in fear since the fight were jolted into action, rising from the trees, or scurrying away into the deeper parts of the forest. She tried to look at the one who made the noise, but couldn't find it, with blurry, darkening vision. Hurried footsteps proved the new 'creature' to be human, and they rushed to her. Hands flutteringly pat her on the face, shoulders, and arms. They stopped at her side, trying to understand what was going on. She clutched her waist tighter, starting to feel numb from the pain finally. She knew what it looked like anyway. Just shy of her right ribcage was where the humanoid demon's claws had sliced through her flesh. The wound was deep and long, three separate gashes parallel to each other. At the moment, she was lying on top of her hand, on her side, using her own body weight as pressure.

Shortly after the mysterious hands had realized this, they pressed on her upper shoulder, urging her to roll so they could get a better view. Giving up, she relaxed.

'_It really doesn't matter now…'_ she thought to herself. Everything was numb, anyway. May as well just give in. Maybe this one will help her die. Trying again to focus on the figure, she barely saw the outline of a small face and dark hair before a flash of silver and the world darkened .

**(((((O)))))**

I know you hate author's notes.  
><span>But please, bear with me.<span> This will be the longest one, and I try to not say anything that doesn't need to be said. Any other author note will be very short, to the point, and if unnecessary, non-existent.

This began from a dream I had, where, from the perspective of Rin, I stumbled across a (quite frankly, terrifying) scene with a woman bleeding to death, with blood and chaos around her.

**Knowing these things will help you in my story:**

This is set in the time after Sesshōmaru regenerated his arm, and after Naraku is beaten. So no epic final battle…I feel Naraku has gotten ENOUGH attention as is.

I use Google Translate for most any translating needs, so I'm sorry if it's not correct. What I don't research, I'm really not worried about. It's usually just names for Characters, and if they can be loosely translated into something that I want them to be, I'm happy. Anything more important, I look up obsessively.

In the original Japanese manga, Sesshōmaru speaks obsessively in the third person, I will be omitting that. Sorry, it'll be hard to keep up and consistency is important to me. I will, however, keep him as proper/formal as I can.

Mokomoko…I have heard a very convincing argument as of recently, and that is that the mokomoko is Sesshōmaru's tail. I have not really enjoyed this angle before, but I enjoyed the reasoning and obsessive examples given, to the point where I will attempt to use this in this fic. Possibly. Just a forewarning, in case you don't like it, like I didn't before. I hope to portray this fact as well I can. BUT I have also found a good middle-ground for those who don't like the mokomoko as his tail… But you'll find that out when it becomes pertinent.

As I said earlier, the 'chapters' will be short, because each one has something that I want to convey. Each one is a step to my story. Before I post, I re-read it and embellish anyway, so they might grow, but not much. Also, I'm lazy. Smaller chapters mean less for me to write to update. I hope it's not too little for you all. They may grow as I get more into the story and have more free time. Wish me luck!

~Kaikie


	2. Chapter 2

**Deciding if I need chapter titles.** But I'm not very good at them. This chapter is a little longer than the promised 'short' chapters, but I hope that I'm talented enough to extend the real short ones a little longer anyway...

**(((((O)))))**

Blackness was everywhere. But it wasn't any sort of normal blackness. It seethed and swirled around her, tugging, pushing, and pressing up upon her; and if she had to admit it, it did so in not-so-decent ways. She had been here before, this was familiar. She had hoped, when she died, that she would be free from this torment. It appeared, however, that fate was not going to be kind to her. She would have to suffer, then, for the sins of her birth, until her soul was reborn into another body. Well, if her soul was _ever_ born into another body.

_**Little birdie, I am so sad. You do not sing. Why don't you sing for me anymore?**_

'_No…no…g-go…'_

The girl curled upon herself, cringing in the Darkness as the words from so many days and so many mouths twisted into one voice and coursed through her mind. She had to be dead. But if this was death, she didn't want it. She didn't want this kind of eternity. This was something no good person should endure.

_**I need you to sing for me. What do I have to do for you to sing?**_

'_Not now…ne…never…'_

Why didn't the little girl who found her save her? She was supposed to make all her pain leave her, as she was the hero in this story. But instead she had banished her to this world of the swirling voices. The voices played with her head, with her feelings. They made it so she could almost not even breathe. And, above all, they scared her.

_**Why birdie, why? I have given you many pretty things, things all birdies should have.**_

'_Please…no…no more…'_

The Darkness that sank into her soul now was as familiar to her as her own right hand by now. She knew what it really wanted, she knew what would to happen, and she also knew that there was nothing she could do about it. It was something that she had learned throughout her life, choose the lesser of two evils. This voice and this Darkness was always-_always_ that lesser evil.

_**Please... Yes, I have tried to please you. But you don't respond. I need you to sing for me.**_

'_I-I can't…I can't…I can't…'_

She shuddered. The Darkness continued to swirl. It was nothing new, these words. They always repeated. Wording may be different, order may get mixed up, but they always said the same thing, they always had the same message.

_**Sing birdie…sing. I need you to sing. Sing for me, sing and the pain will go away.**_

She didn't respond. She couldn't respond. She so wanted the pain to leave. The voice continued, promising whispers of health, life, happiness. Lies, she knew. Lies that rot the teeth that they passed. She attempted to curl up farther, to protect herself from the Darkness. It pressed against her body, constricting her, and she tried her best, even here, where the Darkness that already knew all her secrets, to keep her presence damped so she could pass as a simple little nothing. But this didn't deter the swirling mist at all.

This was how it had always been. Nightmares had haunted her when she was awake. Nightmares still haunted her when she was asleep. Those that forced their way into their mind were sinister and evil, a dark shadow of the ones that had been present during her waking hours. Though she had escaped most, the Darkness in her mind never left, and she had always had the sneaking suspicion that it never would.

So it came as quite a shock that the one thing she thought would never happen in a million years suddenly came to fruition. The Darkness was cast back, and why caused it to dissipate surprised her immensely. A light, subtle at first, cast a beam across her elbow. From there, it grew. Wherever the light spread, the Darkness hissed and crept away into nothing. Once the light covered her, and made no move, she peeked from around her hands.

"Wake up." She blinked. The voice that intruded on her imprisonment was not the normal voice the Darkness had.

'_What…'_

"Wake up. It's okay. You're safe. Please, I need you to drink _something_." The last part sounded almost…irritated at her. The only thing she could deduce would be that the voice was coming from the light. She concentrated. If there was a voice telling her to wake up, then could it be that she's not actually dead and doomed to suffer for all eternity? As she concentrated, she felt her limbs gain weight.

There. She could smell the dirt around her. She could hear the wind. She could feel there was a hand pressed to her head.

"Okay, I know you're awake now. Your eyes are twitching." She was finally able to place the voice. It was the same one that had screamed when she was losing consciousness earlier. What was going on? She struggled to open her eyes, finally cracking them a little. A blurry little face appeared between her eyelashes.

"Drink." Water dribbled across her lips and she slowly swallowed, letting her eyes focus more and more. Her caretaker sharpened into that of a little girl with dark hair. She was concentrating on the cup of water at the moment. She took it away all too early, a look of fierce concentration on her face.

"I don't want to shock your body. That's it for now. My name's Rin, you are safe here with me. Who are you, anyway?" The little girl inquired the older woman, who blinked slowly. Everything was still not making much sense, she could barely keep in focus the little Rin's face, and she couldn't process much of anything that was being said. But she had been asked a question, and questions need answers, so she said the first thing that came to mind.

"Pie…" There was more she was going to add, but couldn't for the life of her remember. What _was_ the question, anyway? So she figured she should just had to repeat her answer again. Maybe that would help figure things out.

"Piieeee…"

"Foolish girl! The woman is delirious!" Rin spun and disappeared, leaving the tops of trees and some sky in her line of vision. The other voice continued. "She won't last another day. Why even try? Let's leave her and-" A giant whack reverberated around the area.

"She's doing fine! She'll be okay. And we aren't leaving anyone anywhere!" At this point, Rin returned, smiling reassuringly. Curious to see who the other voice was, the woman shifted to prop herself up and take a look around.

"WAIT! NO!" Rin's voice cried at her. No sooner than she had moved one muscle, her entire body exploded in pain.

It felt like she was on fire. And then, nothing. She knew she was back in her subconscious again. Her limbs were light, and she had this great tingly feeling everywhere. But it was different this time. There was no whispering Darkness, no swirling pressure. Instead there was a soft light surrounding and warming her. And so, realizing that this was as good as it was going to get, for who knows how long, she decided to enjoy it.

**(((((O)))))**

No. Her name is not actually Pie. Seriously? And as I said before, I'm not that great with the whole partial-Japanese thing. This includes prefixes and suffixes. No –sama, –chan, –baba, or etc. For Sesshōmaru I'll be using My Lord as formal, Lord Sesshōmaru for familiarity (as the speaker is using his name), and just Sesshōmaru for informal. This is how I'll conduct all names. Some things, such as names for things (that I have obsessively looked up) I will use, and you'll find them throughout the story.

Happy reading!  
>~Kaikie<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**So I didn't know how to format this chapter.** I sincerely hope it's not too confusing. Also, bonus, this was originally supposed to be two chapters. I merged them :) The next few may be half this size, unless I'm feeling creative or generous.

**(((((O)))))**

Rin looked at unconscious woman, 'Pie', biting her lip. She knew how to take care of bruises, scrapes, and cuts, but nothing this serious. The wound was deeper than she had originally thought and she didn't know even the first step to help. As soon as she put bandages on, the blood had bled through. Knowing at least enough to not take the bandages off, she wrapped them up again and again. Soon, however, it was too cumbersome and there is always such thing as too much of a good thing. So she took most of them off and washed them so they could be wound around the woman again.

But she was fighting a losing battle, and she knew it. She was jostling Pie around too much with every new bandage that needed to be put on. What was really needed was stitches, but she had bever learned that particular trait. She knew that the small green kappa that watched over her was right about her patient dying with just her young help. She also knew she had one more trick up her sleeve. One more chance to save this mystery woman's life. In any other normal circumstance, she would think two, three, or even four times before doing what she was about to attempt. But she didn't have time for any sort of hesitation or contemplation. She barely had time to let the idea form first. She stood up from where the ground had soaked up spilt blood.

Walking quietly to a spot on the other side of the camp, she knelt before her Lord's retainer.

"Did you give up, brat?" he sniffed imperiously. She didn't move. She knew that Jaken wasn't really as mean as he made himself out to be. And this was the knowledge that she was banking on.

"Jaken," she started, before crouching so her forehead was on her hands on the ground, "please help me. I have no more knowledge to try to save her." Jaken eyed the girl out of the corner of his eye. He could save the woman dying in front of them, but he questioned whether or not it was worth it. She could be dangerous, annoying, stupid, or something.

"Insolent girl, we don't know whether or not she's even a friend. What if she turns out to be an enemy and tries to kill us?" He folded his arms around the staff of two heads.

"Jaken, there is no time to be foolish, or to stall. If she really is an enemy, do you believe that a half-dead human woman could overcome Lord Sesshōmaru?" They both knew that she had him at that point. Jaken was the one who exalted their Lord's prowess the most. Jaken glowered. Rin remained crouched in front of him, studying her hands.

"You have the most knowledge of healing that I know, demon and human alike. Probably more than any one creature knows or has known in the span of time. There isn't anything you don't know how to fix. Please help her." He glared at her some more. He knew then that he would have to help her. If he didn't she'd be sad, and if she was sad because of something he did, he would be in a world of hurt from Lord Sesshōmaru. Or even worse, the staff of two heads would be taken from him and he would be forced to leave his Lord and return to his own petty clan.

And so, without anymore stalling, Jaken stood and walked over to the girl. Even though he was confident he could save the strange woman, it would take an immense amount of work. But in truth, he would do anything for the human girl he looked after, and it wasn't the first time he realized it. This realization did take quite a while before this emotion came naturally and not from a sense of duty, however.

**(O)Flashback(O)**

When Rin had first started following Lord Sesshōmaru around, Jaken was callous and mean to her, brushing her off, treating her as a nuisance. But as time wore on, he realized that Lord Sesshōmaru had started caring for the girl, even if he still maintained that her resurrection was only 'an experiment' and barely said anything to the child. He would, however, respond to Jaken's callousness with rocks to the head or stepping on him when it was convenient. Also, unfortunately for Jaken, when Rin fell and scraped her knees, walked into something, slipped, or hurt herself in any way, he was expected to take care of her. His ignorance of human healing was not an excuse to his Lord either. He had learned _that_ lesson a few times over, with bruises and bruises to prove it.

And so, he took his leave. He knew Lord Sesshōmaru could deal without him for a while. Hopefully he'd stay out of trouble and keep Rin safe enough to not need any assistance. And with barely a word of approval from the daiyōkai, Jaken set off. He travelled from town to town, appearing late at night in the doorways of the greatest healers that the human world had to offer. Since the mid was more available at night when the healers slept, he would wait until they were asleep before sneaking to their beds. Using the staff of two heads, he would then 'unseal' their minds, causing them to recite all they knew about their profession. The staff would then store this memory and Jaken would leave once the staff had everything they knew. The healers would wake in the morning, exhausted and bewildered, trying to find some reason for the strange dreams they had.

It was through this behavior that Jaken soon became a fable amongst humans. They would say that a small kappa would travel the earth, seeking out humans to prey upon. When he found someone, apparently he would demand that they tell him everything they knew. After they were done, he'd devour them. If they knew enough to keep talking until dawn, he would disappear in a fit of rage. If they didn't know enough to talk all night, he would eat them, starting with their skin, peeling back one layer of their body at a time to learn what they were made of. Eventually they would tell this story to children so they would complete their studies.

They called him Gakusei, or 'Student', after his quest for knowledge. Down the road, Rin would sometimes tease him by calling him this, much to his displeasure, seeing as all the hard work he went through was for her health.

He had 'talked' to all sorts of healers. They all told him essentially the same thing, but he found out that they all had their own specialties, and that's what he truly wanted to know, even if the extra searching caused him to be away a bit longer than expected. The information he gained from these specialists was invaluable. There were those who knew burns inside and out, others who could almost cure a poison by looking at it funny, or those that set a bone so strait it could barely tell itself that it had been broken. One of the people he gleaned information from was the endless well of knowledge he'd been looking for. He even had to go back a second night to finish getting all the information. Avoiding traps, of course.

After that, everyone he talked to started repeating what he had been told already. It had been three months, and he figured he was needed back with his Lord. So he set off to wander back into Lord Sesshōmaru's land, knowing that he'd show up eventually. And only after two days did he run into Ah-Un. The beast was behaving quite badly for being commanded by Lord Sesshōmaru, and Jaken really didn't know what it was he could do to fix the issue. After some tense searching and speculation on the dragon's behavior, he could deduce that Rin had wandered off while the two demons were away, and now Lord Sesshōmaru was tracking her down. Ah-Un had obviously been told to wait in the clearing in case Rin returned, and he was busy throwing a huge temper tantrum about it. Half the surrounding trees were torn up and crumpled like spent toothpicks. The other half were on fire. It was hard to believe that the beast was an herbivore.

"Ah-Un! Is this any way to show the world who your master is?" Jaken snapped. At this, the beast rolled his eyes, having lost his reasoning and with it his want to listen to speech. Leaving him be, the kappa settled in the safest place he could find and waited. Shortly after that, Sesshōmaru appeared, carrying the little girl, who had somehow managed to break an arm stumbling around in the woods. He glanced at his retainer.

"I assume you were successful?" Jaken was unsurprised that the great demon knew what it was that he had left to do. And, apparently, he returned in the nick of time. He nodded at his lord and moved to the girl that was now settled on the earth. She had passed already, which was a blessing to the kappa, as he didn't have to deal with Rin screaming about the pain he would be causing her as he set the bone.

Jaken grasped the staff of two heads, concentrating for a moment, and the information on the injury flowed from the staff into his mind, as if it had every right to be there, and Jaken himself had learned it through years of practice. In this way, he could slowly learn all that he had collected without making himself go crazy. The staff of two heads was now more valuable than ever, and would grow in value as more healing information was added. Though he had frantically sought out the knowledge of healing humans, he planned to continue with his quest, human and demon alike.

And with that, Jaken became the most knowledgeable unknown healer of his time.

**(O)End(O)**

As Jaken approached the woman Pie, he grasped the Staff of Two Heads, absorbing the information he could about the wound. Prominent in his mind were the memories of a healer that had been called to duty with a warlord's army. He shuddered at the wounds he saw in his mind, but the technique of this healer was impeccable, for a human. He stood next to the wound and examined it, continuously absorbing the information and deciding where to start.

**(((((O)))))**

Happy reading!  
>~Kaikie<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Well.** **A** **note**…I may not have read all the way through the Inuyasha series…sorry, I stopped collecting when waiting for volume 31 to come out…Lord, I'm old…but I've read that Lord Sesshōmaru re-grows his arm. This fiction is set after that fact, so he's got two arms. I've said that before, haven't I?

**(((((O)))))**

Jaken stood. He had done everything necessary to save the woman's life. As long as she didn't move for a while, slept, drank, and ate enough, she'd be fine.

"Girl, she is as good as she can be. Now make sure she sleeps, drinks, and eats without moving extensively, and leave me be." With that, he huffed off to sit back in his 'spot' while Rin sat on her knees, staring at the woman, not sure what to do. Maybe talk? She looked around, searching for what to say to an unconscious person.

"So…uh…Pie? You said your name was Pie. I'm going to think that that was accidental. You probably didn't even know I asked you a question. But I think it's funny…Piiiieee…" Rin giggled, and Jaken looked at her like she was crazy. "But then you had to go pass out again. Don't worry, I'm here to take care of you, and Jaken can treat _anything_. He's really smart when it comes to people hurting." Jaken inwardly preened behind her back when she said that. As much as he pretended to hate anything and everything that a human said, he sure liked compliments, no matter where they came from, and they always boosted his ego. Rin, however, didn't even seem to notice the praise, and continued talking as if it was just a fact of life.

"So I'm hoping you will wake up soon, because you need to do things like eat and drink. Also, I need someone to talk to. Nobody here will talk to me. My Lord is out patrolling the area because of all the blood that was everywhere. It's attracting…_things_…so he's protecting us. I know as soon as you can, we'll have to move. Actually, we'll probably move before you're ready even. So he's not here, and Jaken doesn't like to talk to me either. I can say all I want to him, but until I start crying or insulting him he doesn't say anything back. And Ah-un can't say anything, or at least anything I can understand. He's the world's smartest dragon, but he doesn't know how to talk. Though I think he can communicate somehow to my Lord, because sometimes he doesn't even need an order, they just sorta _look_ at each other and then Ah-un's off doing something."

And with that, Rin chattered off for the better part of an hour, talking about her life, travelling, the things she liked, those she didn't, and everything she did. She only stopped when her stomach growled, and she scurried around camp, getting herself dinner.

**((O))**

Not far away, a figure stood tall in their silent surroundings. The animals that had inhabited the area had either been scared away or caught in the crossfire, their lives snuffed out by the blows that had radiated throughout the area. The forest was in disarray, trees that weren't crushed were fallen, and those that weren't fallen had gouges from claws deep into their trunks. The ground was churned and bare, and everywhere there was blood. It was splashed into the trees, and soaked into the ground. Golden eyes surveyed the area, taking in everything. Lord Sesshōmaru was making another lap around his ward and retainer.

He could understand the horror Rin felt upon stumbling onto the scene when it was fresh. When he had heard her scream, he had abandoned the beginnings of his pursuit of another demon to appear in front of an injured human. When he realized that the scream had not meant danger, he was turning to leave when Rin had looked up, crying, begging to try and help the older human. When a simple command could not stop her crying, he was obliged to carry the woman to a less bloody location.

After that, he had to circle the camp, blood attracted creatures, and creatures needed to be dealt with so those that he travelled with wouldn't be killed due to unavoidable weaknesses. As he was taking care of this duty, he spent copious amounts of time in the battlefield. He noticed something when he returned. It had been a barely noticeable detail on the woman, but there were in fact, three different scents. The human and two demons.

Puzzled by this mystery, he had traversed up and down the area, starting with the first demon on the scene. Apparently they had been hunting the human. He followed the path backwards as far as he felt comfortable before he forced himself to stop, not finding any new information. At the site where the demon finally caught up with her, a second demon appeared, though it was not clear if the battle was a three-way battle between all three, the second defending the human, or the two demons were enemies and the human was unlucky to have been there when they met. The last option was the most plausible story, as why would anyone find it necessary to fight or defend another's prey?

Either way, the demons were apparently mainly occupied with fighting each other, as most of the blood belonged to them. The human must have been in close quarters, to be so doused, and eventually sustained her pitiful life-threatening scratch. With that, the story got confusing. The first demon ran off, bleeding profusely, a short distance, before the trail stopped dead, as if they had merely disappeared. The second demon had no trail. It had appeared in the battle and disappeared from the battle.

It was quite obvious they were similarly powerful, and had matching travelling skills, hence why they were fighting each other. Natural rivals usually ended up being opposite sides of the same object, or as some said, night and day. It was common for rivals to spring from the same race as well. The only thing that was unacceptable with the whole situation was that they had the audacity to enact this little charade on _his_ land, under his very nose. Every demon on his land that considered themselves pitifully powerful presented themselves to him, and if they didn't, they were considered his rivals.

He was going to have to take care of this lapse in their judgments if he ever found them again. With that thought, he memorized the blood-scent. As he inhaled, he noticed that now that everything had browned and aged, the forest was settling into its natural cycle. The creatures that dared come back were the smallest and weakest, from the normal mice to scavenging demons. With a flick of his wrist and barely a sound, stalking evil fell.

**(((((O)))))**

Happy reading!  
>~Kaikie<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

**Shorter chapter time.** Sorry. I'm getting sick of referring to her as 'her' or 'she'…it'll be nice once 'she' can introduce herself.

**(((((O)))))**

The light washed over her skin, soothing her hurts, and warming her soul. At one point, it blossomed and grew so bright it was like it gained a physical form and washed over her in waves. It was bliss. But sometimes, it would flicker, and the Darkness that was kept at bay glimmered evilly in the distance. Always, though, the light would return, and never would it disappear altogether.

A person cannot, however, remain in their subconscious forever. So much sooner than wanted, her limbs started growing heavy, and her body gained mass. The dull ache of her injuries started throbbing through her abdomen, keeping tempo with her heart. As she gained awareness, she noticed she was still lying on the ground, but her right cheek was warm. And a little fuzzy.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw were stars. Night had apparently fallen, hopefully only once since her last waking moments. The warmth on her cheek, when she glanced out the corner of her eye, was revealed to be the little girl who had been taking care of her. She scrunched up her face in concentration…there was very little she remembered that the girl had said earlier. What was her name?

"Rrr…" she muttered under her breath to the night. Maybe sounding it out would help. It definitely started with the 'r' sound… "Rrruuu… Rrrreee… Rrriii…m…nnn? Rin?" It sounded right. It looked as if the Rin had fallen asleep when sitting next to her, and had finally tipped over onto her face, the top of her head landing just above her 'patient's' shoulder. Beyond the girl's body, all she could see was the glow of an almost-dead fire.

The forest was unnaturally still, and she felt that there was something out there that caused the silence, but her weak eyes could not see what it was. There wasn't any movement from inside the camp, either, even though she was aware that there was at least one more person beside the young girl. When she was awake she had not been able to discover who the second, squeakier, voice belonged to, and it was bothering her. But the dark night thwarted her attempts to look around. Oh, what would she give for the eyesight of a demon right now.

'_Or the healing abilities of even the lowliest of them all,'_ she mused. _'Maybe fur or something too…it's chilly out. And a new outfit. Maybe some hair combs. Or a nice bag. With food in it…'_ And making her wishful list, she drifted off to sleep, her cheek warm.

After her eyes closed, and her breathing steadied, two golden orbs appeared in the shadows, gleaming in the dark. The eyes stayed open, watching everywhere, as the night passed.

**(((((O)))))**


	6. Chapter 6

**I APOLOGIZE…for the absolutely horrid updating! **School is owning my ever-living soul at the moment, as the year is winding down and I need to get cracking. So, again, sorry. I do, however, have the next couple pages (hand)written, and I can concentrate more on painting than: wtf should happen _next?_ Cross your fingers.

Next chapter I can start referring to 'the woman' with a name!

**(((((O)))))**

Rin woke with a start, jolting suddenly to a sitting position and frantically looking around. When had she fallen asleep? What if something happened while she was out? But everything seemed fine. Her Lord was still not there, the injured woman was still next to her, and Jaken was glaring at her from his spot across the camp.

Speaking of Jaken, he looked more pissed off than normal. Rin cocked her head to the side, staring right back at him, trying to figure out whether or not it would be a good idea to ask him what was wrong. It could be a horrible mistake, and he would get all offended and start shouting. Or maybe he would be more tolerant, as he was known to do every so often. It all depended if he was upset with her specifically or just in general.

"What are you looking at, girl? If you stare too much your eyes fall out," he squawked meanly at her.

"I was just wondering what's wrong, Jaken. You seem a little upset." His eyes widened and his cheeks puffed out. Rin had her answer. He was mad at her, and now he was going to be noisy. Inwardly, she sighed.

"A little upset? I have to sit here all day and all night staring at you and this other human that I had to heal so I personally wouldn't die. I am not allowed to let anything happen to any of you pink little weaklings, but my life is almost completely expendable! I have not been able to leave the camp for fear of my life, but stay here with so many creatures buzzing around that said life is in constant danger! And you sit there, in your little fantasy world to help a stranger and-" he was silenced by a rock that had been flying by and suddenly decided that the squeaky kappa's face needed to become more intimate with the ground.

"Jaken. You will silence yourself." And with that, a tall form appeared from the trees. Dressed in white accented with splashes of colors, armor that wrapped around his chest, and a giant fur around his shoulder and back, he stared at Jaken with his severely golden eyes. Jaken froze in fear, while inwardly he marveled at how his Lord could make such an entrance so impacting even on him, the most faithful and devoted retainer, even after all these years.

"My-m-my Lord!" Jaken stuttered, crouching in front of his lord, Sesshōmaru. "I did not mean that you were unable to handle the monsters! Your power is unmatched by any other demon, and your fighting ability is superior to any other of this world! I merely-" With a squish, Jaken was silenced as Sesshōmaru stepped on his prone form, as if his presence was nothing. The daiyōkai walked over to the now sniffling girl.

"Control yourself." And with that, Rin's tears disappeared as if they had never come into existence to begin with. With a huge smile that she only ever reserved for her Lord, she jumped up and bowed.

"I apologize, my Lord. I will try to refrain in the future." She wasn't surprised when he said nothing further. When he glanced around at the other woman in their company, she felt the need to inform him of her status, even though he hadn't asked. One thing she learned about Sesshōmaru while travelling with him was that he did not consider it at his level to have to ask others for their knowledge, unless he was threatening or torturing them in some way. Personally, she thought it was a little silly. If you asked information from others, you'd get things done more quickly, and would be more knowledgeable of things in general. This is why it has been her personal goal to learn as much as she could about everything or everyone that they crossed, so she could prove her company worthy to her Lord. Because, in this way, he would not have to ask the questions he considered mundane. Usually this worked, but sometimes adults didn't want to answer a child's questions.

"She is healing, very quickly thanks to Jaken's medical knowledge, but is still unconscious and has not woken up since the one other time."

"Jaken is a fool, the human woman merely sleeps." With that, he spun, long white hair whipping gracefully about him, and disappeared. For a second, Rin stared where he used to be, wishing she could move so fast. But she didn't have time to think random thoughts, she had a patient. A patient that was apparently going to wake up soon. And what did sick people need when they woke up? Food.

Rin nodded and firmly turned away, breaking her daydream of having long beautiful hair and moving faster than anything. She scurried around their camp area putting more wood on the fire so it could accumulate more coals to cook on. However, when she went towards Ah-Un to retrieve food, she found her way blocked.

"What is it I can help you with?" she questioned the Kappa, already figuring what it is he wanted to say.

"This food if for Lord Sesshōmaru and his followers. I am his extremely important retainer, and you are under his care. For our health, she is not allowed to consume anything of ours. She'll just have to get her own meal later, when she leaves."

"Master Jaken, you said yourself that she needs to eat, don't you remember?"

"Of course she needs to eat! It doesn't mean she needs to eat our food!" he spluttered. Rin sighed. She didn't want to argue anymore. He obviously had a vendetta against the woman.

"Master Jaken, please move."

"Go gather different food! Like you've done before, and acted like the whelp you are!" Jaken's words whipped into the air and cracked through the clearing. Rin trembled. Looking down, she scuffed her foot and started to turn away. It'd been a long time since Jaken had spoken to her like that. He must have reached his daily limit of niceties.

"O-okay, I'll-" she bumped into something firm and white. Looking up, she saw the pant leg of her Lord.

"Rin," he started. She looked up all the way to his face. He may not look at you, but you were expected to look at him whenever he spoke.

"Do as you wish." Which was clearly an order to not wander through the forest. It was also as close as he ever got to giving her power over Jaken's command, the same phrase that allowed her to follow him. With that, he once again disappeared to patrol the area. She beamed at his disappearing back and walked around a spluttering Jaken to Ah-Un. After scratching the cooing dragon's heads, she undid the bags on the ground. Rooting around a bit, she found the food and utensils that she was looking for before winding her way back around the now pacing and grumbling Jaken.

"There is no thanks, sometimes. No thanks. Mistreated and misused. A nanny for a pathetic weak human and now a nurse for a dying one and it seems I'm the only one with any sort of respect for those with more power around here…" and on he grumbled, muttering to nobody, turning around trees and stomping the perimeter.

Rin tried to just ignore him and not make it seem like she was gloating while she rummaged around the campsite. She didn't want to provoke the little kappa. If she did something like that, she would most definitely sully Lord Sesshōmaru's help, and as he was in hearing range, he would definitely hear any sort of taunting on her part. Save the victory laps for the smaller, less important victories. Having been forced to live alone after her parent's murder, she knew how to survive, and making light of an upper-class' help was not on the list of 'intelligent ways to live longer'. So instead of smirking, she went about preparing food as if nothing had happened.

**(((((O)))))**


End file.
